


Blessed

by Lafaiette



Series: Fire Emblem Three Houses Ships [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I managed to recruit everyone in my BL route, Love, Post-Game(s), Post-Time Skip, i love their support conversations!, one of the cutest pairings!, so Marianne and Lorenz are getting married in the Fòdlan united under the banner of King Dimitri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 13:06:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20582981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lafaiette/pseuds/Lafaiette
Summary: She loved Lorenz – she loved his funny mannerisms, his kindness, his respect for the commonfolk and the duty he felt towards them. She loved him for who he was and he deserved better than a marriage built on a so big and dangerous secret. He deserved better than a cursed woman such as herself.So she waited for him, hands on her lap, her lower lip quivering, ready to give him up.





	Blessed

Marianne gathered all her courage the day before her marriage with Lorenz.

She had been selfish during the engagement; she was well aware of that. No matter how much her heart screamed at her to finally open up and tell him the truth about her Crest - that truth he had not wanted to hear a year before during the war -, she just hadn’t been able to do it.

Everything had been just so perfect, so blissfully peaceful, that she had taken refuge in her cowardice once again and refused to face the dangers that her Crest and the name related to it bore.

But now, just twenty-four hours before the ceremony, before the Archbishop and Queen of Faerghus Byleth herself would bless their union in the Cathedral of Fhirdiad, before the carriage Lorenz had asked her to choose would bring them to their new estate in old Alliance territory, before they would lie together as husband and wife…

Now she found her courage amidst the cloud of fear and despair that hovered over her scarred heart.

She asked him to meet her in her quarters. King Dimitri and Queen Byleth had so generously given all their friends rooms and spaces to utilize for those few days before the ceremony. Marianne and Lorenz, being the bride and groom, were the guests of honour, but everyone else was there, too, almost all the students of the three Houses laughing and smiling under the same roof just like back in the Academy. 

They were all older, with heavy experiences on their shoulders and new shadows in their eyes, but some things were still the same and new, bright light had also entered their lives. That camaraderie had also played a part in Marianne’s hesitation, forcing her to postpone her meeting with her betrothed day after day, until she had almost convinced herself that there was really no need to tell him about her Crest at all.

_But what if_ _our children will bear it, too? He deserves to know. I cannot hide this from him._

And so, here she was, in the vast rooms the King and Queen of Faerghus had given her, her wedding dress standing ready in a corner, her flowers and bouquet waiting on the large oaken table near the fireplace. She caressed the delicate veil attached to the mannequin’s head, admiring the embroidered roses and leaves on it, before sighing and sitting on the loveseat placed at the end of her bed.

She was sure that was the last time she would ever see it again. She would never wear it – Lorenz would grow pale at her tale; disgust would crease his lovely face. Then he would stop looking her in the eyes and rise, begging forgiveness, but asking her to forget about him and any declaration of love and adoration that had come from him. He would then leave the room and go inform his father – also a guest in the castle of Fhirdiad – that the marriage was no more, for his bride-to-be was a cursed woman.

Marianne bit her lips to stop a sob from escaping her mouth. It was still too early to cry. She didn’t want him to enter the room and see her already bawling her eyes out. She wanted to smile while telling him this – he had asked her as much, a year ago. He wouldn’t listen to her secret if it caused her too much pain.

But how could it not cause her pain? How could she even smile while telling him such a loathsome tale?

Her adoptive father, Margrave Edmund, would die on the spot if he knew what she was about to do. He had begged her not to reveal anything to her groom and his family – her honour and the honour of her family would be at stake. If she _really _wanted to be fair to her husband, he had said, then she could wait some years, when it would be too late for the Gloucester House to reject her and throw her out. Preferably after a few Crested heirs had been born, so that they would have even less reason and strength to nullify the marriage.

That had been her father’s plea and Marianne had pretended to listen to him and accept his conditions – but no more. She loved Lorenz – she loved his funny mannerisms, his kindness, his respect for the commonfolk and the duty he felt towards them. She loved his elegance and his eyes and his smile when he greeted her good morning and good night and kissed her hand.

She loved his thoughtfulness – how he would find those pastries she loved so much so that she could eat them for breakfast or after lunch; how he would pick the most beautiful roses for her hair and carry her in his arms if she got too tired after a long walk together.

She loved him for who he was and he deserved better than a marriage built on a so big and dangerous secret. He deserved better than a cursed woman such as herself.

So she waited for him, hands in her lap, her lower lip quivering, ready to give him up.

\- - -

When she heard knocking, her heart almost leaped out of her throat.

“C-Come in!”

Lorenz appeared in all his glowing and polished beauty. He was wearing less than usual – just a loose blouse and comfortable pants with boots -, but even those had clearly been made with the utmost care and the most expensive and precious materials available in the Gloucester region, or perhaps in all Fòdlan. There were tiny roses engraved on his boots and sewed on the collar of his blouse and the air about him perfumed like a field of flowers.

“Good evening, Marianne, my love.” he said as soon as he stepped into the room, quietly closing the door behind him. There was a playful glint in his eyes. “Are you so eager to see your future husband that you cannot wait until tomorrow? Fret not, I feel the same!”

She babbled something under her breath, her willpower already weakening before his smile. He sat down next to her and took her hand, pressing it gently between his own. The look in his eyes was softer, now.

“I-I know this was very sudden.” she started, praying her voice and her heart wouldn’t betray her now. “I apologize for the bother. But I… I have to tell you something very important.”

“How could you bother me? I am all ears.” That playful light came back in his eyes and leaned forward to whisper: “Although I do wonder what people would think, if they found us here alone, the night before our marriage.”

“Lorenz!” she squealed, smiling despite her growing anxiety. She felt herself blush and she looked away when Lorenz laughed softly, her hand still in his.

“I apologize. But rest assured that nobody saw me coming here. Stealth and discretion are also the qualities of a true noble.” He patted her hand, prompting her to look back at him and his gentle smile. “So? What did you wish to tell me, my love?”

Marianne took a deep breath, praying she would last until the end, that her heart wouldn’t fail her.

“Do… Do you remember what we talked about, a year ago? When you invited me for tea and I tried to tell you something?”

“Oh, yes, of course I do! My perfect memory could never forget the lovely laugh you gifted to me that day.” Lorenz’s smile was as bright as the golden statues of the Four Saints in the cathedral of Garreg Mach Monastery.

“I think… I think I’m ready to tell you now.”

He frowned at that, his hands squeezing hers and rubbing the back of it soothingly.

“Are you quite sure? I already told you I do not wish you to suffer simply because you feel the obligation of telling me this. If it hurts you too much, then I don’t want to hear it.”

“B-But it’s important! And this time…” She managed to curl the corners of her lips upwards. Not much, but she hoped it looked like a genuine, decent smile. “This time I am smiling. See?”

Lorenz hummed, clearly unconvinced, but he nodded and sat more comfortably to face her better and listen closely.

Marianne bit the inside of her cheek for a moment, then started speaking. The smile on her face faltered multiple times and tears soon ran down her pale cheeks, but she kept going, explaining in great detail the curse related to her Crest, the story of it and its first bearer, its effects.

Lorenz gasped when he saw her cry, but she stopped him from stopping _her _and so all he could do was listen in silence, his violet eyes studying her face, his hands holding her trembling one.

“And… and this is it.” She raised her eyes from her lap and smiled at him through tears, a sorrowful thing that twisted his heart with a painful grip. “See? I’m still smiling!”

She couldn’t read Lorenz’s expression. For the first time since she knew him, she couldn’t recognize any emotion on his face. He was just looking at her in silence, watching her tears, her sad eyes, and her even sadder smile.

“I… I will understand if you don’t want to have anything to do with me anymore.” Her whole body was shaking, now. “How could you still wish to marry me after hearing all this? I’m sure your family would be against our marriage, too, if they knew.” She sniffled, biting her lips. “I’m sorry I waited so long to tell you, but I was so happy! I love you so much and I hoped that…”

She sobbed and hiccupped, then looked away, murmuring: “I don’t know what I hoped. I’ve been so selfish, I’ve always been.” The pain in her chest became too much and she let out a strangled “Forgive me!” before moving to pull her hand away from his hold and flee the room.

But Lorenz grasped her fingers more tightly and held her there on the loveseat, his face still so emotionless, so similar to that of Byleth. Marianne gasped, staring at him with puffy red eyes and a wet nose.

Then he smiled, a warm, loving smile that confused her beyond words. Wasn’t he disgusted? Wasn’t he angry or frightened?

“Marianne, oh my dear Marianne…” He pulled her into his arms and when her head rested on his chest and she heard his voice echo in her ear, she started sobbing again.

“I already knew, Marianne. I have known since six months ago.”

“W-What?” She raised her head, blinking at him like a scared owl. “What do you mean?”

“When we announced our engagement, a scholar came to House Gloucester.” Lorenz’s voice and expression turned a little sour as he recalled that event, showing that he hadn’t enjoyed the visit much. “Such a rude individual! He said he wanted to warn my father and I about your ‘true nature’.”

“Oh.” Marianne sniffled, looking down with a sad grimace. “I think I know who he was. He has been following me for years.”

“Yes, he told us as much.” Lorenz’ hatred was evident in his voice and Marianne gasped a little, seeing him so angry. But then a smile bloomed on his face again, as candid and sweet as the roses he loved so much. “Of course, I made sure he would never bother you again.”

“Lorenz! What did you do…?”

“Oh, nothing violent, I assure you! _However_…” He cleared his throat, looking away from her face with a cute blush tinting his cheeks. “I might have scared him off using some well-pronounced threats.”

“Oh, Lorenz.” She laughed, a small frail thing, but he beamed at her all the same when he heard the sound.

“He was so shocked when he saw that the story he had told us had no effect on us. He couldn’t believe we weren’t scared of you. Can you imagine! Scared of _you_, my kind rose, my selfless blossom!”

“B-But… The Crest of the Beast…”

“It is just a Crest like all the others, nothing more.” He put a hand on her cheek, swiping away her tears with his thumb. His smile was softer and so, so sweet. “The legend behind it is superstition, like pretty much everything else in Fòdlan. You cannot hurt anyone, Marianne, you are not capable of it.”

“My actions during the war say differently.”

“Well, it was a _war_! All of us killed to protect those we cared about! In that case,” he brushed away a cerulean lock of hair from her eyes, “we are all beasts. And I could not be prouder of being one, if it meant protecting you and our land."

“Lorenz.” She shook her head, her mind uncapable of understanding reality. “How can you accept this, accept _me_, so easily? You can’t be certain that I won’t bring misfortune to you or your family! What if…! What if I…!”

“Absurd. And even if this curse really _does_ exist, then we will face it together.” He raised a perfect eyebrow, his smile brighter and broader. “That is what married couples do, after all, wouldn't you agree?”

A strong knot that had been in Marianne’s heart for years finally came loose and she drew a long breath, as if her lungs were finally able to suck in all the air she needed to breathe properly. Tears filled her eyes again, stinging them, but the smile she gave him was genuinely joyous and relieved.

“Oh, Lorenz!” She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her face on his cheek, enjoying the sound of his laugh and the feeling of his arms around her body. “Thank you! I’m so happy!”

“I am as well.” He kissed her before whispering in her ear: “Are you reassured now, my blossom?"

"Oh, yes!"

"Then I shall wait for you to calm down a little before leaving. I fear I already caught a glimpse of your beautiful wedding dress.”

“Oh, no!”

She sprang up with a gasp, but there was mirth in her eyes and on her mouth. “Quickly, then! You must leave!”

“What?! _Too_ soon! I can stay some minutes more!”

“No, you can’t!” she giggled, pushing him out of the room. They tried to stifle their laughter, not wanting to attract too much attention, but Marianne couldn’t help herself when Lorenz bent down to press a deep kiss on her lips.

She laughed and giggled through the kiss, feeling him smile, and she sent a prayer of thanks to the Goddess. She couldn’t wait to finally put on the white dress waiting for her in her room. And for the first time in her life, she felt blessed.

**Author's Note:**

> I love Marianne and Lorenz ; v ; Their A support is adorable and their ending together even more! 
> 
> FE3H finally made me write for this fandom after all these years LOL I will probably post more short fics like this one centered around characters and ships I liked. I feel like some of them don't get enough love, so I'm gonna do my best to fill that void (and sate that thirst HUEHUE)
> 
> English isn't my native language, so I apologize for any typos!


End file.
